Besaidian Stew an Macalania Mangos
by SpazKit
Summary: Damn the deceptive Macalania fuits and nasty Besaidian stew... A strange little mushy story. A tad Aurikku, but not that bad


Mush with a semi-plot. This kept me occupied for about an hour on the way   
home from visiting earlier today. I was somewhat bored. Obviously. Kinda   
Aurikku, though not romantic. Mew?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Besaidian Stew and Macalania Mangos  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ugghh. This is /so/ gross, Wakka!"  
  
Rikku's nose wrinkled in distaste as she begrudgingly swallowed the evening's   
main course - Besaidian stew.   
  
"Hey, it's all we got, ya?" The blitzer answered, slurping down the chunky soup, a   
little of the warm liquid splattering on his chin. Beside him, Tidus also stuck his   
tongue out at the distinct taste of the stew, but kept his mouth shut, a true feat for   
the boy. The party was circled around the fire, a small pot set up above the   
flames. Rikku was across from Wakka, sitting cross-legged and making truly   
inspiring faces at their supper that evening. Lulu and Yuna ate their dinner in   
silence, watching the exchange with something of amusement.   
  
"Well, I could go for some real food," Rikku grumbled, swirling the murky brown   
substance in her bowl.  
  
"Well, why don't you go out and get us some, then?" Auron said lowly and   
sarcastically, sitting crossed-legged and sharpening his blade beside Kimahri.   
The Ronso didn't comment, but stared up at the sky, his whiskers swaying in the   
slight breeze.  
  
Rikku's brow furrowed in annoyance. Grumbling, she stood and roughly placed   
the bowl on the dirt ground.  
  
"You're always being mean to me, Auron! First the lightning, now this!" She   
shook her head, stamping her booted foot on Macalania's forest floor. "Well, fine!   
I can go find my own dinner, y'know?"  
  
With that, the perky yet annoyed Al Bhed sulked off, leaving the circle of   
guardians and summoner. Yuna opened her mouth to say something, but Auron   
waved a gloved hand.   
  
"Let her go. She's restless and could probably use the exercise. Or else she'll   
never let us sleep tonight," Auron shrugged, setting his sword against the forest   
floor, the newly worked blade glinting in the firelight. Yuna frowned.  
  
"She could be hurt out there, alone…"   
  
"If she's not back in a half-hour, we'll go get her. I doubt her stubborn stomach   
will last that long, though," the elder guardian instructed, motioning towards the   
barely touched bowl on the ground. With that, Auron stretched out, bringing an   
elbow to support his head. Wakka and Tidus began yet another typical blitzball   
conversation, while Lulu began removing her hair apparel for sleep.   
  
Elsewhere in the woods, Rikku grumbled to herself and contemplated her   
options. Non-fiend wildlife in the woods was rare. Therefore, her chance of   
hunting for her dinner was practically non-existent. As she trudged through the   
trees and brush, she glanced upward, noting some fruits in the trees, high above.   
Aha!  
  
She was at ease with climbing, though she almost lost her footing once or twice.   
Glancing down, she realized a fall would not be pretty and would probably be   
embarrassing. Glancing upwards, the girl was reassured of her hard work when   
globes of blue fruit came into view. Without the sparkling of the crystals and   
lakes, she'd never have spotted them in the dark of night. Rikku grinned   
triumphantly when she grabbed hold of one of the fruit. Wow! It was all shinny on   
the outside, like a grenade or something!  
  
Hopping down to a lower branch, Rikku slid her hands over the sphere, trying to   
figure out how to get the skin off. Tongue touching the corner of her mouth, she   
managed to peel away the outer layer of skin, revealing a tender blue-violet pulp   
and meat. Sniffing cautiously, she didn't think it smelled poisonous. Thoroughly   
pleased with herself, Rikku bit into the fruit, smiling as the sweet blue juice ran   
into her throat. Success!  
  
Back at camp, Tidus was arguing over some certain technique for scoring   
against your opponent and Wakka was disagreeing wholeheartedly. Yuna sat   
quietly, gazing at a nearby crystal and Lulu was combing her long raven hair.   
Kimahri's nose was still skyward, sniffing every few moments. Despite the   
languid arguing going on beside him, somehow Auron had managed to nod off,   
his head cradled by his arm.   
  
"Yuna," Kimarhi rumbled softly across the fire. The young summoner's attention   
snapped from the scenery to the large furry guardian. "Kimahri think it will storm   
soon," he announced, glancing back to the fast moving clouds above.   
  
Bubbling to herself, Rikku had happily filled her stomach with three of the globes.   
Funny, as she made her way down the tree, her eyesight began to shimmer   
slightly. Shaking her head, she moved to place her foot on the next lowest   
branch, but her boot didn't touch anything. Confused, she pawed at the place   
where the branch should be, but her fingers felt nothing. Huh?  
  
Thunder suddenly rang through the air, and she yelped in surprise, sliding off the   
branch and thudding to the ground. Whimpering, she scrambled against the tree,   
and yelped again as she fell into a hidden hollow. Hiccuping, she stared out from   
her safe haven, a small dry space among the dampness of the coming rain.   
Struggling to think clearly, the burping and hiccuping Al Bhed realized that there   
would be no shelter for Yunie! With that thought, or fragment of a thought in her   
befuddled mind, she scampered out of the hollow to find her summoner. Granted,   
she collided with several tree trunks and shrubbery on the way.   
  
Stumbling, she gained momentum rapidly, and suddenly exploded from the tree   
line into the clearing, colliding against the mass that was Kimahri and tripping   
over the still sleeping Auron. Grunting, his head snapped up only to see a boot   
thwacking against his temple.   
  
"Is' gonna rain!" Rikku slurred, waving wildly towards the sky. "I heerd th'nder!"   
She was faulty and weaving like a girl who'd had too much to drink. Wide eyed,   
the party regarded the wavering Rikku with disbelief. From behind, Auron was   
massaging his head with his free hand, whist the other was checking to see if his   
sake was still attached to his side. He sighed in relief when he found it.   
  
"We know, Rikku," Yuna said slowly, wondering if her guardian had been   
attacked by some fiend, and confused… or something. But Rikku seemed   
uninjured, just… acting… oddly.  
  
"Well, we could use Auron's sword and that tree branch, then use his robe as a   
tent-"  
  
"You are /not/ using my robe as a 'tent'," Auron hissed, pulling himself upright. As   
if on cue, a gust of wind ran through camp, blowing the already teetering Rikku   
against Wakka. She yelped and looked frantically around, trying to figure out   
where the bully was whom' pushed her. Auron blinked and groaned.  
  
"Rikku, what did you eat for your 'dinner'?" he asked tiredly. Yuna looked at him   
in confusion.  
  
"My dinner was way better n' yours! Was th'se fruit thing's," she explained, here   
eyes narrowed in concentration, making a sphere with her fingers.  
  
"Were they… blue?"  
  
"Yeah!" She said, nodding her head so violently that she fell back against Wakka   
again. Auron moaned and dropped his head.   
  
"Wonderful."  
  
"What?" Tidus asked, glancing at the flashes of lighting in the distance.   
  
"Jecht did the same thing. The wondrous 'Macalania Mangos', or whatever he   
called them. They intoxicate just as well as alcohol. Of course Jecht loved them.   
He got drunk without meaning too, thus not really /breaking/ his promise to   
Braska and I about drinking."  
  
Yuna blinked. "Is it harmful?"  
  
"Not that I know of. She'll have a hell of a headache in the morning, if I recall   
Jecht's swearing the morning after he'd eaten one," Auron grumbled, staring at   
the sky. "As of now, that is not our immediate concern. We must find shelter-"  
  
"Ohh! Ohhhh! I know, I knoow!" Rikku chanted, hopping up and down, only now,   
she fell right on her butt. The group stared at her skeptically. She chuckled   
weakly.   
  
"Th'res this place I fell n'to! S'got all dry and stuff! Ina tree trunk!" She slurred   
from the ground, pulling on Kimahri's tail. Auron raised an eyebrow. "Rilly! M'not   
makin' it up!"  
  
Yuna looked at Auron. "We could try… it's better than nothing, right?"  
  
"Right!" Tidus said, pumping his fist in the air. Auron glared at him, and the boy   
shrank down.   
  
"So. We are to follow the only intoxicated member of the group," Auron stated. A   
roar of thunder shook the camp, and Rikku flailed on the ground, trying cover her   
head, and fell over. Auron rolled his eye.  
  
Within a few minutes, they had gathered their few belongings and were following   
a teetering Rikku out of camp. She clung precariously to Kimahri's arm, the   
Ronso trying to steady the Al Bhed. She burbled all the way, her voice shrill and   
slurred. Auron berated himself for not knocking her unconscious when she'd   
tripped over him. He could have said he'd thought her a fiend. It was plausible.   
  
And suddenly… there it was. The fabled "big hole in the tree". Auron's eyebrow   
rose in disbelief.   
  
"Seeeee? I told ya!" Rikku said, pointing triumphantly in the wrong direction.   
Tidus chirped happily, and pounced into the small cavern. Wakka followed into   
the cramped compartment. Then Lulu, then Yuna. And then… Auron, barely. And   
then, there was no more room. Yuna was crushed against Lulu and Auron as it   
was. Rikku whimpered pathetically.   
  
"Heeeeey! I foun' th' tree! I want in!" Auron glanced at the Al Bhed from his   
reclined position, Yuna glancing over his shoulder. A loud bout of thunder shook   
the tree and lighting illuminated the sky. Rikku shrieked and fled into the hollow,   
scrambling over the bodies inside. She didn't get very far, and collapsed upon a   
shocked Auron. He hissed when she kneed his ribs, his hands flying up to take   
the weight off his midsection. Tidus sniggered and the elder guardian broke his   
stare at Rikku to shoot the boy a look of death.   
  
Glacing back at the Al Bhed, Auron found the girl tucked snuggly against his side   
and his summoner. Yevon. Why him? Could he just die? Noooo, he had to stay   
/here/…   
  
He glanced sympathetically to Kimahri, who stared at them from the entrance, his   
yellow eyes glowing. Suddenly, a heavy sheet of rain collapsed from the sky,   
pelting the Ronso's hair to his head. He grunted.  
  
"Kimahri take… watch," the irritated Ronso grumbled, leaping to a branch above.  
  
Rain pattered loudly outside of their little shelter. In back, Tidus and Wakka were   
arguing again. Lulu was sighing, trying to get comfortable against the larger   
blizter. Yuna was silent and Rikku was only half-conscious, muttering in Al Bhed.   
She was lucky Wakka couldn't hear her over the storm. Auron sighed. Just like   
old times. Only now they were sardines.  
  
Auron grunted, arching his back as he removed his belt. Settling the sake to the   
base of his feet, he slid out of his robe and offered it to his summoner. Yuna   
accepted shyly. He removed his collar and glasses, also placing them at his feet.  
  
Bringing his arms behind his head, Auron sighed, trying to get comfortable in the   
arch of the hollow. Against him, Rikku finally stilled and slept.   
  
Yuna shared the robe with her cousin. Glancing upwards, she watched as   
Auron's head tilted to the side, his lone eye watching the rain. Shrubbery above   
prevented any splattering on him, of that she was sure he was glad. Tidus and   
Wakka stopped their arguing and soon snores filled the tiny space. Yuna's eyes   
tracked the intricate design of the wood above in the lightning's light. Glancing   
back to her left, she watched as a soft snore escaped Auron, a hand coming to   
rest on his stomach. Beyond him, Kimahri peered at her from the entrance.   
  
"Yuna alright?"  
  
She nodded, pulling the robe closer.   
  
"Yuna sleep."   
  
She did.  
  
  
*************************  
  
  
It was still drizzling when she woke, dawn's light having yet to pierce the thick   
cloud cover. Blinking her multicolored eyes blearily, she looked outside. In the   
darkness, she could see Kimahri's form still standing guard. She would have to   
make sure her guardian got rest after the rain let up. In her line of sight, the   
drowsy Auron's cheek fell to rest on her cousin's brow before he snored again,   
his breath blowing the golden bangs of Rikku's hair. Really. Next time, she'd   
have to find guardians that didn't snore. Between Tidus, Wakka, and Auron... Still   
too early, Yuna went back to bed.  
  
*************************  
  
  
Ur… So… Kuto… E drehg e's toehk.  
  
Rikku groaned, trying to hide from the day. Her head felt like lead and gelatin   
combined. She buried her face further into her pillow and pulled the covers up to   
her eyes.   
  
"That's my shoulder, you know."  
  
Grunting, she lifted her head to find herself nose to nose with the cause of all her   
problems.   
  
"You! This is your fault-" She moaned, immediately lowering her voice to prevent   
further pain in her head. "You knew about the fruit and you-"  
  
"From what Jecht told me, it /does/ taste better than Besaidian Stew," Auron   
chuckled. She groaned.   
  
"I'm surprised you remember," He said, lifting himself, bones cracking as he   
stretched as much as he was able. Leaving the hollow, he moved outside to   
consult with Kimahri. A normally dormant deep, resonate laugh echoed over the   
drying trees when he saw the cat. The poor Ronso was standing a few feet away,   
his fur sticking out a good 2 inches.   
  
Soon after, the party was assembling outside. Wakka was prodding the hungover   
Rikku outside. The girl had enwrapped herself in Auron's robe, the cloth   
surrounding her head. It took a good bit of coaxing and Auron's best stern voice   
to recover the article of clothing.   
  
As they trekked towards Lake Macalania, Kimahri paused, and threw something   
to Auron. Auron grinned behind his collar. He stared at the Al Bhed trudging   
behind him. He tossed the object to Tidus, whom responded with a bark of   
laughter.  
  
"What?" Rikku grumbled grumpily. Tidus handed her the object. She scowled,   
and removed a grenade, attaching the explosive to the item. She launched it   
backwards, the 'mango' exploding in a blue shower of fire and fruit. They all   
laughed.  
  
Rikku never complained about the evening meal again. 


End file.
